New Delhi [India], May 29 (ANI): DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat on Thursday called on the Indian industry to significantly increase its investments in research and development to strengthen India's indigenous defence capabilities.

'We need to invest more in research and development. Today, we spend 5 per cent of our Defence budget on R&D. The Raksha Mantri has promised us that in the next five years, this will increase gradually to 10% of the Defence budget,' Samir V Kamat said at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025.

'You can't afford to fight future wars with past technologies. If you have to win future battles, you have to invest in R&D within the country,' he added.

He congratulated the armed forces for the success of Operation Sindoor.

'Let me place on record the DRDO appreciation of the armed forces' efforts in conducting operations very successfully. I would also like to congratulate the Indian industry for helping us and producing the equipment they (Armed Forces) could use successfully during this operation,' he said.

'I would like to congratulate the Indian industry for contributing significantly to making India the fourth largest economy in the world,' he added.

He highlighted the importance of working towards advanced technologies for cutting-edge systems.

'Technological changes are galloping. Although manufacturing is required, without the ability to design and develop your systems, you will always have systems that are not the cutting-edge systems. We are not the leading R&D nation in the world at the moment. So we will have to catch up, which can be done by using the new emerging technologies,' Kamat noted.

He said India's progress in Research and Development will not only strengthen its defence ecosystem but also expand defence exports. 'We will work with you closely to make India a leading R&D country where people look to us for new innovations in defence technologies. If that happens, our exports will also increase.'

'We will be at a position where our enemies would not want to deal with us in any form of war, and we can then grow economically at a much faster rate with our focus on lifting the country to become a developed country, which is the vision of our Prime Minister by 2047,' he said. (ANI)